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Algirdas was one of the seven sons of Grand DukeGediminas. Before his death in 1341, Gediminas divided his domain; this left his youngest son Jaunutis in possession of the capital, Vilnius. With the aid of his brother, Kęstutis, Algirdas drove out the incompetent Jaunutis and declared himself Grand Prince in 1345. He devoted the next thirty-two years to the development and expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Two factors are thought to have contributed to this result: the political sagacity of Algirdas and the devotion of Kęstutis. The division of their dominions is illustrated by the fact that Algirdas appears almost exclusively in East Slavic sources, and the Western chronicles primarily describe Kęstutis. The Teutonic Knights in the north and the Golden Horde in the south were equally determined to acquire Lithuania, with Algirdas' eastern and western neighbors (Muscovy and Poland) were generally hostile competitors.

Algirdas held his own, also acquiring influence and territory at the expense of Muscovy and the Golden Horde and extending the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Black Sea. His principal efforts were directed toward securing the Slavic lands which were part of the former Kievan Rus'. Although Algirdas engineered the election of his son Andrew as Prince of Pskov and a powerful minority of Novgorod Republic citizens supported him against Muscovy, his rule in both commercial centres was (at best) precarious.

Algirdas occupied the important principalities of Smolensk and Bryansk in western Russia. Although his relationship with the grand dukes of Muscovy was generally friendly (demonstrated by his marriages to two Orthodox Russian princesses), he besieged Moscow in 1368 and 1372. An important feat by Algirdas was his victory over the Tatars in the Battle of Blue Waters at the Southern Bug in 1362, which resulted in the breakup of the Kipchaks and compelled the khan to establish his headquarters in the Crimea.

According to modern historians, "For Gediminas and Algirdas, retention of paganism provided a useful diplomatic tool and weapon ... that allowed them to use promises of conversion as a means of preserving their power and independence".[1]Hermann von Wartberge and Jan Długosz described Algirdas as a pagan until his death in 1377. Contemporary Byzantine accounts support the Western sources; Patriarch Neilos described Algirdas as "fire-worshipping prince"[2] and another patriarch, Philotheos, excommunicated all Ruthenian noblemen who helped the "impious" Algirdas.[3] His pagan beliefs were also mentioned in 14th-century Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras' accounts.[4]

Algirdas balanced himself between Muscovy and Poland, spoke Lithuanian and Ruthenian (among other languages) and followed the majority of his pagan and Orthodox subjects rather than to alienate them by promoting Roman Catholicism. His son Jogaila ascended the Polish throne, converted to Roman Catholicism and founded the dynasty which ruled Lithuania and Poland for nearly 200 years.